Carburetor control device



May 3, 1938. H. RODMAN 2,115,878

CARBURETOR CONTROL DEVICE I Filed April 24, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 esnzsnonerea BRAKE CLUTCH PEDAL l" E o mvgmon HUGH Room/w,

' May 3, 1938. RODMAN 2,115,878

CARBURETOR CONTROL DEVICE Filed April 24, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR HUGH RODMAN,

ATTORNEY Patented May 3, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,115,878 CARBURETOR CONTROL DEVICE Hugh Rodman, Chicago, Ill. Application April 24, 1933, Serial No. 667,758

ficlaims.

My'present invention, in its broad aspect, has to do with the provision of means for automatically controlling the operation of the-carburetor of a motor vehicle, and the consequent nature of 5 the resulting combustible charge delivered to the cylinders. More particularly it is my purpose to provide an actuating piston and cylinder or bellows assembly-in conjunction with an accelerator of an automobile (or other) motor which is inter-' 1o p lated in a'vacuum line associated with the intake manifold of the motor, and with certain control devices in conjunction with the speedometer and brake or clutch, thereby to automatically control the formation of the combustible charge 15 through the carburetor to conform with the speed of the motor and the circumstances of its operation.

In attaining the various ends and objects-of my invention, I provide in conjunction with the ac- 20 celerator and carburetor throttle rod a piston and cylinder assembly. Associated with the cylinder is a vacuum line tapped into the intake manifold so that under ordinary circumstances the suction in the intake manifold will operate through the 25 vacuum line and cylinder to actuate the piston,

which' in turn operates the accelerator and throttle actuating rod'of the carburetor. However; I have provided means whereby the suction developed in the vacuum line is automatically 30 controlled thereby to make the operation of the accelerator and carburetor dependent upon certain conditions of operation of the motor vehicle.

These means include an automatic control device associated with the speedometer or actuating 5 mechanism similar to a speedometer whereby more or lessair is'admitted to the vacuum 'line 3 dependent upon the speed of the vehicle, and included in said control device associated with the speedometer is a manualcontrol dial arranged on 40 the instrument board for setting the automatic 45 uum line, and there is a manually adjustable con-' trol valve at the intake manifold to regulate the effectiveness of the same on the vacuum line. Itis pointed out, of course, that the pressure or effective .force of the vacuum line is dependent 5o on-the extent of. vacuum created, which in 'turn is dependent upon the ainountof outside air admitted thereto to counteract the suction action ofthe intake manifold.

' The control device can be mounted on any type I 55 of speedometer or tachonietenand since, either is directly associated with the drive shaft the engine speed is regulated with relation to the car speed. I Therefore on a car equipped with free wheeling; if the car is coasting down a hill and is going at a greater speed than the predetermined set speed, the throttle valve will be closed and the motor idling. As the car loses speed on the level it will come back to the set speed and the automatic control will then be effective to open the valve enough to hold the car'at its set speed. The setting is accomplished by the aforementioned manual dial on the instrument board-which is calibratedin miles per, hour and geared to the vacuum tube holder in the control to adjust the same after the manner which will be hereinafter described in greater detail. a a

My invention also contemplates the provision of a unique control mechanism for use in conjunction with the speedometer; this includes means whereby the admission of air to the vacuum line is not only regulated by'the car speed, but also manually by settingjat predetermined effective speeds.

My device is effective and simple in construction and may be used either with or without free wheeling, and with any conventional form of speedometer or carburetor; and it is effective in attaining better regulation of the combustible made in the light of the claims.

In the drawings wherein is illustrated the preferred form of my invention;'--

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic or schematic view of my control device and system applied to the conventional parts of a motor vehicle;

, Figure 2 is a simplified form thereof; 4o

. Figure 3 isa front elevation of my control device associated. with the speedometer; Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the gear mechanism for manually setting -the' position of the vacuum line;

Figure 5 is a top plan view of my control device associated with a speedometer;

Figure 6 is a detail view of the vane used to control intake of air to the vacuum line;

Flgurefl shows transverse views (A andB) of 5 the types of orifices preferred for admission of air to the vacuum line; and

Figure 8 is a view of the cam wire used to: actuate the air control vane in conformity with the speedometer reading. i

Figure 9 is a diagrammatic view of the valve control mechanism associated with the brake and clutch pedals.

Figure 9A is a sectional view through the fitting and valve on the intake manifold.

In the drawings, like characters of reference refer to like or similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring now particularly to Figure 1; the numeral l designates the intake manifold of a conventional motor power plant, and 2 the carburetor. The accelerator pedal is designated 3; the brake pedal 4 or the clutch pedal and the conventional speedometer by 5, while the carburetor or throttle control rod is shown at 6. All of these parts are conventional and form no part of my present invention.

In carrying my invention into effect, I provide a main vacuum line (or pipe) designated 1 which communicates with the intake manifold I through a fitting 3 having a suitable form of manual regulating valve 9. One end of the vacuum line communicates with a cylinder ll having a piston ll working therein, and the other end has branches l2 and I3; respectively leading to the speedometer 5 and to valve control mechanism l4 associated with the brake or clutch pedal 4. Branches l2 and I3 are respectively intakes for air, and their effective regulation controls the influence of the intake, manifold upon the vacuum line and the piston H- in cylinder II. That is, the maximum effectiveness of the suction action of the intake manifold on the vacuum line is when both branches l2 and I3 are closed, in which event the entire suction action is directed to the cylinder Ill and piston II with the result that the piston will be drawn forward and the accelerator pedal down. As the quantity of air admitted either to branches l2 and I3 increases, the eflective action of the intake manifold suction is reduced in the vacuum line and cylinder I0 until the minimum effectiveness of the influence of the suction in the intake manifold is reached when either (or both) branches l2 and I3 are fully open, at which point the accelerator pedal is at its normal inoperative position and the motor idling.

In order to attain effective and largely automatic control of the carburetor I provide means in conjunction with the brake or clutch pedal which includes a valve l5 normally latched in a closed position so that branch I3 is normally held closed when the brake or clutch is in inoperative position. The latch designated I6 is pivoted at lid and is T-shaped, with one arm'engaged by spring I! to normally press on the valve stem II to force the valve in closed position against the engaged by a solenoid 23 which in turn is energized from a switch 2| arranged to be actuated after the manner shown in Figure 9, by the actuation of either the brake pedal 4 or the clutch.

pedal so that when pressure is applied to either,

- the switch 2lhaving battery connections 2la will be closed to energize the solenoid, which in turn will throw the latch and the valve will be 7 the car isunder conventional control; 1. e. the tion of the vacuum tube connection by means of of the brake or the clutch pedal.

- forced open by the spring IS. The switch 2|,

as shown in Figure 9, is of a conventional form having a spring pressed button engaged by the brake pedal 4, or the-clutch pedal as the case may be, to be-operative through the instrumentality Accordingly, when the brake and clutch pedals are depressed the vacuum line effectiveness is neutralized, and

calibrated dial 32 accelerator must be pressed to feed gas to the carburetor. If, however, it is not necessary to press the clutch as-in some improved forms of vehicle control or where neither the brake nor clutch pedals are depressed, the branch I3 is closed, and my invention becomes effective. Accordingly it may be said that branch I3 is effective to neutralize the action of my vacuum control of the carburetor when the brake and clutch are in operationin which case the car is under standard control through the accelerator foot pedal. A simplified control of branch I3 is shown 1 Figure 2 in which a foot button 22 having a spring 22a to hold it in normal position is utilized to actuate valve 22b in casing 22c to close branch Y Assuming now that neither the brake is actuated nor clutch disengaged, that is the car is simply running along in the usual manner in transit. In this case control of the vacuum is both the disc 23 and gear 29, and the gear 23 is engaged by a'pinion 30 on a shaft 3| leading to a on the instrument board. These parts are shown in detail in Figures 3, 4, and 5. The dial is calibrated in miles per hour, and by turning the dial the position of the vacuum tube connection 23 can be adjusted on a radius having'the shaft 21 as a center. The plate 24 also has another set of brackets 33 carrying adjustable bearing elements 34 in which is mounted a, shaft 35. The axis of rotation of the shaft 35 is the same as the axis of rotation of the shaft 21. On the shaft 35 is mounted a vane 36 and a hair spring 31. The vane 36 swings in the same plane as the orifice 23a at the end of the vacuum tube connection 23. This orifice may be slightly flattened or otherwise as shown in views A and B of Figure 7. The vane has a pin or stop 38 on its surface facing the orifice and this surface is preferably ground to form a closure over the orifice, either partial or complete depending on the position of the vane with respect to the orifice in the vacuum tube connection. The shank or standard 39 of the vane is partially screwthreaded to carry a counterbalancing weight 43, and on the lower end thereof is a. pin 4|. The pin 4| rides inside of a wire cam 42 which is mounted on the post 43 of the speedometer to -move when the reading on the speedometer dial changes. The cam is formed of wire and is of the type giving a regularly increased angular velocityfor instance an Archimedes cam has been found satisfactory. The hair spring 31 serves to move the shaft 35 to so position the vane that the pin 4| at all times engages the inner face of the cam.- There is provided an adjusting arm 44 for the hair spring 31. By this means when the readings on the speedometer increase the cam is moved to throw the vane to gradually uncover the orifice inthe vacuum tube connection. The setting of the control mechanism is effected by manually adjusting the posibe efiective at a certain definite number of milesto the set speed in which case the control will come into action and open the throttle valve enough to hold the car at set speed. The setting is accomplished by means of the dial 32 which is set at the desired number of miles per hour, and the stop 38 lies against the side of the orifice when the speed is set and when the car speed is lower than the engine speed. When the car speed reaches the engine speed or set speed the cam engages the pin and the-vane is moved over the mouth of the orifice thereby letting in air, thereby in turn permitting the throttle-to close enough to bring the car to set speed. Explaining. now the operation with respect to the several parts. The dial 32 is turned to fix the set speed at so many miles per hour. This setting of the dial 32 moves the vacuum tube connection 23 through instrumentality'of pinion 30 and gear 29 and the movement of the vacuum tube connection in turn causes the wall of the orifice 23a. 4

to engage the stop 38 on the vane 36 so that the vane and the orifice are aligned with each other and no air is admitted through the orifice into the vacuum tube connection. In this case the pin M at the end ofthe vane is slightly moved I away from the cam 42. The cam will not engage the pin again until the speedometer reading is equivalent to the miles-per-hour (set speed)' reading of the dial 32; when the speedometer reading reaches or passes the dial reading the pin 4! ,isre-engaged with the cam and the vane moved away from the orifice to let in air to the vacuum line.

From the foregoing it is believed that the operation' and construction of my invention will be apparent, but since changes may be made in details to conform to varying conditions of prac-- tice, without departing from my inventive concept, emphasis is again laid upon the fact that interpretation of the scope of my invention should only be conclusive'when made in the light of the subjoined claims.

I claim; I

l. The combination in a motor vehicle and power plant assembly, a cylinder and piston unit connected with the accelerator, a vacuum line communicating with the cylinder and with the intake manifold, and having branch connections leading to. the speedometer and to a relief valve, means in conjunction with the brake for controlling the relief valve to admit air' to the vacuum line when the brake is pressed, and means in conjunction with the speedometer for automatically admitting air to the vacuum line when certain predetermined speeds are reached.

2. The combination .in a motor vehicle and power plant assembly, a cylinder and piston unit connected with the accelerator, a vacuum line communicating with the cylinder and intake manifold to actuate the acceleratorupon increase of suction in the vacuum. line, a valve.

in the vacuum line, means connecting the valve with the clutch to open the valve when the clutch is actuated, and a control device in "the vacuum line connected with the, speedometer whereby when the speedometer readings vary, more or less air will be admitted to the vacuum line.

3. The combination in a'motor vehicle and power plant assembly, a cylinder and piston unit connected with the accelerator and carburetor, a vacuum line communicating with the cylinder and intake manifold to actuate the accelerator and throttle of the carburetor upon increase of suction in the vacuum line, a valve in the vacuum line, means for normally holding the valve closed, means connected with the brake for opening the valve, and a control device in the vacuum line having a valve device for admitting air to the vacuum line as the speedometer reading increases.

-4.-The combination in a motor vehicle and power plant assembly, a cylinder and piston unit connected with the accelerator, a vacuum line communicating with the cylinder and intake manifold to actuate the accelerator upon in; crease of suction in the vacuum line, a valve in the vacuum line, means connecting the valve with the clutch to open the valve wher'rthe'clutch is actuated, a control device in'the vacuum line connected with the speedometer whereby when the speedometer readings vary, more or less air will be admitted to the vacuum line, and means for setting the control device so that it will be inefiective except at certain predetermined speeds of the speedometer.

5. The combination with the intake manifold, carburetor and speedometer of a motor vehicle, a vacuum line communicating with the intake manifold and having a pressure responsive device interpolated therein and connected with the carburetor to regulate the explosive charge, and a control device in the vacuum line and connected with the speedometer; said control device comprising an opening in the vacuum line, and a vane movable to open or close the opening a cam connected with the speedometer, and means on the vane engaging the cam to adjust the vane andthe admission of air to the vacuum line in vice interpolated therein and connected with the carburetor to regulate the explosive charge, and a control device in the vacuum line and connected with the speedometer; said control device comprising an opening in the vacuum line, and a valve mechanism controlling admission of air to the opening, a cam associated with the speedometer, and means connected with the valve and engaging the cam so that the valve will be actuated in accordance with the movements of the speedometer, and setting means including an adjustable mounting for the vacuum line adjacent the opening therein, and manually operated to 

